


dancing in a swirl of golden memories

by everqueen



Series: would you call in the name of love [5]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: 2taakitz2week, Alternate Universe - Over the Garden Wall Fusion, Crossover, Day 5, M/M, also multi-chapter because I can't control myself I guess, fun facts: John is the Beast and the bulwark staff is Adelaide!, it's kind of a mismash, please enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 06:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everqueen/pseuds/everqueen
Summary: the Unknown is no place for children, but Taako and Kravitz find themselves there nonethelessDay 5 of Taakitz Week!(title from Over the Garden Wall Main Theme)





	1. Chapter 1

The boy has been alone for a long time.

The woods get dark early, this time of year.

(He doesn’t remember when it wasn’t this time of year.)

The leaves that haven’t fallen rattle in the cold wind, dull gold and brown flashing against the skeletal branches. They gleam, sometimes, in the light of the half moon, if the fog isn’t too thick to see the sky. The streams Taako crosses have ice gathering at the edges, not frozen yet, the swift current in the center carrying fallen leaves away to destinations dim and unknown.

Sometimes, on the darkest nights, Taako hears singing.

He hides, those nights, in the hollows of trees. Normal ones, not the warped Edelwood trees that spring up out of the shadows, gaunt faces twisted among the bark. He stays far away from those, when he can, like he stays away from the singing.

Taako’s glaring at an old mill, debating whether to try sneaking in, when he hears a snapping branch behind him. He whirls, holding a thin branch as his only weapon, all too aware of his small stature.

If Lup was here, it wouldn’t matter how small he is.

“Who’s there?” he demands.

Another child emerges from the bushes, brushing dead leaves out of his braids. He’s _pretty_ , is the first thing Taako notices, with a handsome face and elegant hands, for all they’re scratched from the thorns. His eyes widen when he sees Taako and he holds those hands up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Who are you?” Taako repeats, lowering the stick.

“Oh, I’m…” the boy struggles, for a moment, brow furrowing in confusion. “Kravitz? I think?”

“You think?”

“It’s been a long time since anyone asked,” the boy, Kravitz, explains.

“Why are you here?” Taako asks, hands on his hips now. He might be cute, but if he doesn’t even remember his own name, he’s not going to be much help in finding Lup.

“I don’t know,” Kravitz admits. “I think… I’m looking for someone?”

“Oh,” Taako relaxes. “Me too. Who did you lose?”

“I don’t remember,” Kravitz mumbles, rubbing at his face. “I’ve just been cold, for a long time, I think.”

Taako approaches hesitantly, and pokes at the boy’s shoulder with his stick. “Are you dead?”

“I don’t think so.”

Taako pokes him again, with a finger this time. Kravitz is right: he’s _very_ cold. Taako snatches his hand back, whistling through his teeth. “Hachi machi, you weren’t kidding.”

“Hot diggity shit,” a dry voice says from above them.

“Who was that?” Kravitz demands.

“That,” Taako says, pointing. There’s a small black bird sitting in the tree above them, with bright white spots on her wings, blinking down at them with beady black eyes.

“Her,” the magpie corrects, gliding down to a branch more at eye level. “I can help you kids.”

“How is a bird talking right now?” Kravitz demands.

“Can you help me find my sister?” Taako asks, narrowing his eyes at the bird.

“I know someone who can,” the bird says. “The Bulwark Witch is extremely powerful. She could find anyone you’ve lost.”

“What are you kids doing out here?” a new, gruff voice says.

“Nope,” the magpie says, flitting away into the trees.

Taako squeaks and instinctively darts towards Kravitz, ducking behind him. There’s a man in front of them, grim-faced, holding an axe and a small, elegantly formed black lantern, which is shining with a cheery yellow glow. He has thick auburn sideburns and sharp eyes.

“Nothing!” Taako says, gripping Kravitz’s arm. It’s cold, too cold, not like Lup’s, but it’s better than facing the man with the axe alone. “We weren’t doing anything!”

“These woods are no place for children,” the man says, frowning fiercely. He glares at the darkness between the trees behind them as a cold wind blows at them. Kravitz shivers under Taako’s fingers, but he still catches Taako’s hat has it flies off his head. The woodsman’s eyes soften at that, just a little, and he waves them both towards the mill. “Come on,” he says. “I have work to attend to, but I will do my best to help you.”

Taako and Kravitz exchange glances, and carefully follow the woodsman into the mill. There’s a dancing fire glowing in the hearth, beating back the dark and cold as much as the stone and wood walls do. The woodsman, who introduces himself as Magnus, builds up the fire before heading for a small door.

“You’re just going to let us stay here for free?” Taako asks suspiciously.

“You can _go_ , if you want,” Magnus says. “But you shouldn’t. There is a Beast, children, that stalks these woods, and even my axe isn’t enough to keep it away.” He snorts. “I’ve tried.”

“Thank you?” Kravitz offers after a few moments. “It’s warm in here.”

Magnus smiles, and it transforms him into an entirely different person, perhaps the person he used to be. The sort of man who would care for others at the expense of himself, who laughed loudly and often.

And then the smile vanishes, and so does that other man.

“I will return,” he says gruffly, and disappears through the door.

“I can’t stay here,” Taako grumbles, pacing around the room.

Kravitz, sitting as close to the fire as he can without setting himself aflame, raises his eyebrows. “Why not?”

“My sister!” Taako snaps. “I gotta find her.”

“We should wait until morning,” Kravitz says. “Especially if there really is a Beast out there.”

“Is there?” Taako says doubtfully.

They turn as one to the single window. The wind whistles outside, blowing dead leaves against the glass, trees creaking and rattling in the woods beyond. Carried on the wind, they can both hear singing, operatic and deep and laughing, icier than the breeze.

Underneath the laughter is a girl’s voice, indistinct and calling.

“Lup!” Taako says, scrambling for the door.

“Taako, wait!”

Taako bursts out through the door, Kravitz just behind him. They stumble into the yard, Taako nearly tripping over a small black turtle crawling towards the stream ahead. Facing them is a wheezing, hissing spider, enormous and deathly black, poison dribbling from its clicking mandibles. It sees them and leaps, narrowly missing Taako’s hat as Kravitz pulls him away.

“This way!” Kravitz shouts, pulling Taako towards the mill. There’s a small ladder leading up to the second floor and they scramble up. Taako finds a small bag of potatoes and starts pitching them at the spider, who hisses again and crashes through the wall.

“What the fuck!” Magnus yells from within. A wet _thunk_ sounds and the spider shrieks. Taako and Kravitz peek over the edge to see the spider, minus a leg, topple into the grinder, destroying it in the process. Magnus howls, the ragged sound tearing itself from his throat as he frantically reaches for some thin strips of wood. He has to snatch his hand back, automatically shielding the lantern as he rolls away from the spider’s flailing limbs.

“Quick,” Taako hisses, pointing at another ladder. This leads to the roof, but their footsteps draw the attention of the spider, which scrabbles towards them as they climb, bursting through the roof as Taako helps Kravitz up. The mill groans and splinters under the weight of the spider, collapsing under their feet. They fall, splashing into the chilled water of the stream below as the spider gets caught in the mill, shrieking terribly as the water wheel grinds at it, until another small black turtle bursts out through its mandibles.

With an audible sigh, the spider shrinks, tumbling down into the darkness below the water wheel. Taako pulls Kravitz up out of the water as Magnus thrusts through the door, panting. He frantically checks the lantern, ensuring the dancing flame within is still lit. He whirls on the children.

“What the fuck did you do?” he roars. “The mill is destroyed!”

“It wasn’t us!” Taako says defensively. “It was the spider, my dude!” he backs up as he says it, feet splashing into the stream, not-quite icy water flooding through his thin socks. “But we got rid of the Beast for you. Feel free to pay us in gold or whatever.”

“That wasn’t the Beast,” Magnus snaps. He shudders and glares towards the wreckage of the mill. “It _was_ a spider, but not the Beast.”

“We should go,” Kravitz says. “We’re sorry about the mill.”

“Beware the Beast, boys,” Magnus says as Taako and Kravitz dart away across the stream. “Don’t let him catch you!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we meet the Beast  
> (and also half a dozen other cameos, the tavern episode is my favorite)

They wander together, after that, until the sun rises, shining dimly through the clouds and the thick trees. Kravitz steers Taako away from an Edelwood tree, while Taako catches Kravitz just before he falls down a leaf-lined ditch. They stop to rest in a small clearing, ringed with friendlier trees and thick bushes.

“I’m glad he’s gone,” a familiar voice says from above them. “That woodsman is too busy with that lantern of his.”

“It’s you again,” Taako says, tilting his head up.

The magpie flutters down to a branch near Taako’s head. “Me again,” she agrees.

“Well, let’s smalltalk,” Taako says, nudging Kravitz awake. “I’m Taako ya know, from TV?”

“What’s TV?”

“We think he’s Kravitz. Who are you?”

“I’m Lucretia,” the magpie says. “Do y’all wanna go to the Bulwark Witch to find your sister, or nah?”

“Yes,” Taako says immediately. “Yes, we do.”

“I suppose,” Kravitz says, eyeing the trees around them. “Why are you here?”

The magpie cocks her head. “Well, let’s say I’m looking for my family too. The Bulwark Witch has a pet, some say, that can help.”

“Sounds good to me, let’s do it,” Taako says. “If you’re sure this witch can find my sister.”

“The Bulwark Witch can find and protect anyone,” Lucretia says. “Let’s go.”

They travel, all that day and into the night, winding their way through twisting paths among the trees, passing a small ramshackle schoolhouse with a rusted bell. The schoolteacher leans out the window, calling, although Taako scoffs and pushes them on with a “School? Not today, homie.”

Lucretia nearly gets caught in the gnarled branches of an Edelwood tree, Kravitz catching her at the last minute, and after that she rides on Taako’s shoulder, directing them with a flip of her wings. The leaves crunch under their feet as the smell of rich cool earth and rotting plant matter drifts through the air, uncut by the flame of the woodsman’s lantern, sugary smells of baking pies from a town, or any other sign of civilization.

“Who are you looking for, Lucretia?” Kravitz asks when the sun is slipping beneath the horizon, leaching light from the leaden clouds hanging heavy above them. They’d paused while Lucretia flew up to check their progress. The magpie squawks and flips in the air.

“It’s a long story,” she says dryly.

“Tell it anyway,” Taako suggests.

“Hmm, no,” Lucretia says. “But it was… I’m looking to save a dear friend of mine. He’s been lost for… a long time, and the Bulwark Witch told me that she could protect him. So we’ll all get something out of going to see her.”

“You know that sounds suspicious as hell, right?” Taako says.

She shrugs. “Do you know another way to find your sister?”

“Don’t worry, Taako,” Kravitz says, leaning against him where they sit, their backs against a tall, weathered oak tree. “We’ll find her.”

Taako’s reply is cut off by thunder, deep and rolling and directly above them. A moment more and the rain breaks loose, drumming down against the trees and pelting them with cold drops. Taako and Kravitz are soaked to the bone in moments, although Lucretia huddles under the brim of Taako’s hat to avoid most of it.

“We have to find shelter!” Kravitz yells over the downpour.

“Yeah, no shit, homie!” Taako yells back.

“That way!” Lucretia says, pointing a wing. There’s a warm yellow glow shimmering through the trees, too strong to be the woodsman’s lantern. Kravitz takes the lead, pulling Taako by the hand through the trees until they see a tavern, door tightly closed against the storm but windows shining warmly. They fight their way through the gusting wind spitting cold rain in their faces, all getting even more drenched in the process, but eventually push through the door.

“Why are you tracking mud all over my tavern?” a gruff voice demands.

“Uh, what’s up, my dude?” Taako says, sitting up first. He finds himself face to face with a short, stout man with a wild gray beard strung with flowers and leaves, twinkling hazel eyes, and a violently bright flower-patterned shirt over brown shorts. The man has his hands on his hips, taking in the two boys sprawled on his tavern floor with a coughing bird.

“Who are you?” the tavern owner says, extending a wooden hand towards Taako.

“What happened to your arm?” Kravitz asks, shoving his dripping braids out of his face.

“Oh, ya know,” the tavern owner says, shrugging. “Mislaid it somewhere. Name’s Merle, by the way.”

“I’m Taako, ya know, from TV?”

“I don’t!”

“And I’m Kravitz,” Kravitz says. “That’s Lucretia. Maybe the Bulwark Witch can help you with your arm.”

“No, nope,” Lucretia says, shaking the water off her feathers and flying up to land on Taako’s shoulder. “Can you just give us some directions and we’ll be on our way.”

“No, uh-uh,” Merle says. “You still have to tell us who you are.”

“Maybe they’re too young,” another voice calls.

Taako and Kravitz look beyond Merle to the rest of the fairly crowded tavern. There’s a pair of woman, one with a blacksmith’s hammer tucked into her apron and the other with locks hanging from her belt. They wave when they see Taako looking, nudging the soot-covered man at the table with them. This man smiles absently but goes back to scribbling numbers on his paper, while a large man with a ponytail, wearing a flowery apron, sets a small cake on their table. There are others, a few people wearing purple kerchiefs, a strange figure in a starry blue robe with everything obscured but their yellow eyes, a young woman arranging roast turkey and other dishes on a long table, and a small boy examining some complicated documents.

The woman with the blacksmith’s hammer was the one who spoke, and Merle shrugs back at her.

“Too young for what?” Kravitz asks.

“Who ya are, of course,” Merle says. “That’s the blacksmith and the locksmith,” and the two women wave. “The accountant, the baker, the _boy detective_ ,” his voice snarls the title a bit, but the little boy just looks up with a big smile. “The ruffians, the chef, and me, well,” Merle laughs. “I’m the tavern owner. Who are _you_?”

“Hungry,” Taako says.

“We’re looking for someone?” Kravitz suggests. “A few someones, I think?”

“You might be on a Quest, sirs,” the boy detective suggests.

“Angus, they’re the same age as you,” the chef says with a smile.

“It’s still good to be polite, ma’am!”

“Questers sounds right,” Merle says, and then yelps when one of the ruffians throws a dagger at Lucretia. She squawks in surprise and flutters out of the way just in time, the dagger clipping her feathers.

“What was that for?” she demands.

“Magpies stole my lunch every day for seven years!” the ruffian yells. “Get her outta here!”

“Hey homie, chill out,” Taako snaps.

The ruffian throws another dagger, narrowly missing Taako this time, and Lucretia curses and flies for the door.

“Lucretia, hold on,” Kravitz tries, but the magpie is already nearly out the door.

“Stay inside,” she calls back. “You need to get warm and dry. I’ll be fine!”

“But your friend—”

But the magpie is gone, as Merle stalks over to the ruffian and kicks them and their friends out right after. They go, with more than a little cursing and shouting, and after some not-so-subtle threats from the blacksmith and the locksmith.

Taako settles Kravitz right next to the fire before walking right up to the table of food, the chef watching him curiously. He hums over the offerings while several of the other people crowd around Kravitz, asking him for a song when he accidentally reveals to the baker that he used to sing. He critically inspects the roast turkey, nodding in approval at the spices used when the chef, Ren, offers him a taste. He clicks his tongue over the mashed potatoes, telling Ren that his sister used to make the best potatoes ever.

“She sounds like a good chef,” Ren says with a smile.

“We both were,” Taako says, poking at the green beans. “Hey, what’s good for a cold dude?”

Taako returns to Kravitz and shoos away the curious crowd, pushing the warm bowl of soup into Kravitz’s cold hands. “Taako, what?” Kravitz asks, fumbling with the bowl.

“It’ll warm you up,” Taako says. “Not as good as _my_ soup, but still not bad.”

“I’d like to try yours sometime,” Kravitz says, eyes closed as he spoons soup into his mouth. He misses Taako’s stiff shoulders and pulled back ears, still enjoying the soup.

“Well my man, that’s not happening,” Taako mutters darkly.

Kravitz’s eyes snap open at Taako’s tone, but Taako won’t look at him. “Taako, what did I say—” he starts, but Taako cuts him off.

“Just eat the soup, my dude,” he says, staring moodily into the fire.

They stay like that for a while, Kravitz gradually leaning against Taako until they huddle together, watching the fire and the rain beat against the windows. Someone, Merle maybe, drapes a knit blanket over their shoulders and tucks a small coin purse into Taako’s hand.

All is warm.

And then a scream rings out, distant and high pitched.

It comes from the direction of the woods.

“Shit!” Taako says, bolting upright and waking up Kravitz, who had been dozing on his shoulder. “That sounded like Lucretia!”

“Language,” the baker man says sternly.

“Go save your friend, kid,” Merle urges, swatting at the baker with his wooden arm. “It must be part of your Quest.”

“Good luck, sirs!” the boy detective calls as Taako pulls Kravitz up. They go running out of the tavern into the storm, the wind flinging needles of icy rain into their faces. The trees are groaning and creaking in the wind, dead leaves and mud squelching under their feet.

The singing is back.

Taako halts at the tree line, staring hard through the gloom.

“What’s wrong?” Kravitz asks, turning back towards him.

“That singing is bad news, my dude,” Taako says shakily. “Real bad news.”

“But what about Lucretia?”

“She’s a bird! And I barely know her!”

“Taako!”

Taako sighs and grits his teeth against the driving rain and darkness. “For Lup,” he whispers, and plunges into the forest, Kravitz at his side.

The branches whip at his face, the mud dragging at his feet, and the rain, always the rain, pours steadily on, soaking through his shirt and molding his hair to his neck. Kravitz’s hand in his is warm in comparison.

Taako pushes on, towards the single solitary light in the forest ahead. They stumble into a clearing facing one of the twisted Edelwood trees, and onto a scene of creeping horror. Lucretia is on the ground at the foot of the tree, feathers limp and drenched. The woodsman, Magnus, is there, clutching the lantern, which glows on. He brandishes an axe at a lurking darkness that arcs high above him, two shadowy antlers sprouting from its head, with two glowing eyes, red and blue and yellow and green twisting together with a sick sort of light, and Taako feels them burn as the figure turns its attention on them.

“I see,” the figure muses, the deep voice echoing in Taako’s bones. Kravitz’s fingers tighten on his as Magnus turns to see them and swears, violently. “Here are those children, woodsman.”

“It’s Magnus,” Magnus snaps. “And you’re not doing anything to them. Boys, what are you even doing here?”

“There she is!” Taako hisses, nodding towards Lucretia.

“Go,” Kravitz hisses back, dropping Taako’s hand and moving forward. “I’ll cover you.”

“You’re looking for someone, aren’t you, Kravitz?” the shadow croons, leaning forward. It leaps back with a cold laugh when Magnus swings his axe again. “Careful, woodsman! You don’t want your wife’s flame to go out.”

“Your what?” Kravitz asks, fascinated despite himself. “How did that thing know my name?”

“Someone would have had to tell me, child,” the shadow says, multicolored eyes swirling at Kravitz.

“Get out of here, Beast!” Magnus snaps, clutching the lantern even tighter. “I won’t let you touch them!”

“Kravitz, I have her,” Taako whispers, tucking Lucretia into his shirt and tugging at Kravitz’s arm. “Let’s go!”

“Hold on. I want to know what’s happening.”

“If I’m the voice of reason, you _know_ this is a bad idea!”

“And you, Taako,” the Beast calls. “You’re looking for your sister.”

“What?” Taako demands, turning on his heel.

“Kids, don’t talk to him!” Magnus shouts. He swings towards them, lantern waving from his hand, eyes wild.

Taako and Kravitz shrink back, Kravitz putting an arm in front of him. “Did you do this?” Taako asks from behind him, gesturing at Lucretia.

“What? No, I’m trying to _protect_ you—”

“Are you now?” the Beast asks, voice silky smooth and cold as ice, deep as a bottomless pit. “Children, where do you think I got your names from?”

Taako shares a glance with Kravitz and then kicks out at the lantern, knocking it out of Magnus’s grasp. With a cry, Magnus dives for it, scrambling back as it bursts against the Edelwood tree, setting it aflame. The wood seems to scream as it burns, twisted faces shriveling and crackling almost in pain. Magnus scrabbles for the lantern, scooping it up just before the flame inside goes out, but by that time, Taako and Kravitz have fled.

“Interesting,” the Beast muses. “What will you do now, woodsman? What oil will you use to keep the lantern lit?”

“Not them,” Magnus murmurs, shoulders low as he sinks to the ground in the pulsating light of the burning tree. “I won’t hurt kids, Beast.”

“No?” the Beast says. “You’ve been grinding up lost souls for years to keep the lantern lit. Why is this any different?”

Magnus says nothing, burying his face in his hands.

“You wouldn’t want your wife’s soul to go out, after all,” the Beast whispers, clawed shadowy hand on Magnus’s shoulder. “Now, where are the children headed?”


	3. Chapter 3

Lucretia revives as the sun rises. She groans in Taako’s hands and raises her birdy head, blinking her beady eyes at that. “Where are we?”

“Woods,” Taako says. “Still. What happened?”

“I knocked myself out by running into a tree,” Lucretia says. “What did you do?”

“I set a tree on fire, it was rad.”

“We met the Beast,” Kravitz says quietly. “He… knew us. He knows we’re lost.”

“All the more reason to get to the Bulwark Witch,” Taako says. “Now how do we do it?”

“Right,” Lucretia says after a few moments, staring at the dark water before them. “Right, the… the Bulwark Witch. We have to catch the ferry at the river, but we need money for that. Two pennies each.”

“Oh, I have that,” Taako says, pulling the coin purse from his pocket.

“Did you steal that?” Lucretia asks dryly.

“The tavern owner gave it to me!”

“Let’s walk,” Kravitz suggests.

His attempt to head off an argument is for naught, as Taako and Lucretia bicker back and forth for much of the rest of the day. Kravitz joins in occasionally, dark eyes brightening whenever he makes Taako laugh. They don’t run into the Beast or the woodsman, and it’s almost pleasant, the leaves occasionally dripping rainwater, the smell of wet earth and leaves drying in the sun wafting up from the forest floor.

They reach the river not long before sunset, the water swollen, dark and quick moving, carrying leaves and branches far beyond the horizon.

“There’s the ferry,” Kravitz says.

“Why are there so many frogs on board?”

“Just give them the money,” Lucretia mutters, perching on Kravitz’s shoulder this time. “Do it quick and they might not notice you’re underdressed.”

They are. The ferry is populated by frogs, it’s true, but elegantly dressed, in evening gowns and fur muffs, elaborate hats and tailored suits. They eye Taako and Kravitz, perched by the railing at the back of the ferry. The two look behind the ferry, the setting sun lighting the water with warm golds and reds, the breeze gentle now, playing around Taako’s face and threading through Kravitz’s hair.

“I can’t believe I’m going to find my sister,” Taako says thoughtfully, gazing out over the water. “It’s been so long.” He gives a sideways glance to Kravitz with a small smile, that smile widening when he sees Kravitz’s soft eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Kravitz admits. “I don’t even remember what – or who – I was looking for.”

“Maybe the Bulwark Witch can help,” Taako suggests.

“I wouldn’t expect too much,” Lucretia mutters.

“What?” Taako and Kravitz ask together.

“It’s nothing,” Lucretia says hastily, avoiding their eyes. She flits from Kravitz’s shoulder to the railing, staring out over the wake the ferry leaves in the river. “She’s very powerful. She’ll definitely be able to find your sister, and help you, Kravitz, with whoever you’ve lost.”

“Right,” Kravitz says after an uncomfortable pause, watching the doubt grow in Taako’s eyes. “Taako,” he says, drawing the boy’s attention back to him. “You’re going to find your sister. You’re going to be together again.”

“Yeah,” Taako says, rallying. “Yeah, I’m not going to lose her again.”

“Uh-oh,” Kravitz says, glancing behind him. The frogs are glowering, two of them dressed in policeman uniforms pointing batons at the three of them. “Taako, we should move.”

“Right,” Taako grabs Kravitz’s hand and they run, darting for the stairs leading up to the bandstand. They sprint up to the stage, Taako skidding to a halt in an attempt to avoid the band taking their place for a performance. A band member tumbles down into the water, his harmonica flying into Kravitz’s hands.

“Oh shit,” Taako mutters as the crowd turns shocked eyes towards them. “Uhhh, Krav, can you…?”

“I used to know how to play harmonica,” Kravitz murmurs, staring down at the instrument in his hands. “I think…”

“Just play!” Lucretia hisses in his ear. “They’re coming up the stairs!”

“Oh.” Setting his chin, Kravitz squeezes Taako’s hand and then drops it, raising the harmonica to his lips. He takes a deep breath, and blows.

The harmonica is not usually an instrument that moves people – or frogs – to calm, but it sets the crowd to swaying, froggy voices rising in harmony of a sort as Kravitz plays. The rest of the band, shrugging, sets up around him, folding their melody around his tune. The police frogs grumble to each other but back down, and Kravitz plays.

He only stumbles once, when he makes the mistake of glancing over at Taako.

He hastily finds the rhythm again, dark cheeks flushing, and doesn’t look again until the song winds down, the frogs sleepy and content. The ferry slows to a stop as the last notes float out over the water. Murmuring, the frogs disembark, digging themselves into the mud, finery and all.

As one, Taako and Kravitz look to Lucretia for an explanation. She shrugs. “Hibernating?”

“Whatever floats their boat, I guess,” Taako snorts.

“Or buries them in the mud,” Kravitz says, grinning.

“Was that a joke, bones?” Taako asks as they climb down the gangplank.

“Bones?”

Taako shrugs. “You’re skinny.”

Kravitz shrugs right back. “So’re you.”

“Oh, touché, my man, great comeback.”

“Let’s stop,” Lucretia interrupts.

“What?” Taako demands. “Why?”

“You know,” Lucretia waves a wing towards the darkening sky. “It’s late. We don’t want to bother her. We can go in the morning.”

“Right,” Taako says doubtfully, but they curl up on the ground anyway, huddled under the knit blanket Merle gave them, Kravitz grinning again and dumping piles of leaves on them both, arguing that it would help keep them warm.

Taako lets him, if it means he’ll keep smiling like that.


	4. Chapter 4

Sometime during the night, the flutter of wings wakes Taako up.

“Lucretia?” he asks into the dark.

Silence.

“Kravitz, wake up,” he whispers, poking at him.

“Huh? Is it morning already?”

“No, I think Lucretia took off.” Taako points towards the thick field nearby, a dark shape silhouetted against the half-moon as Lucretia wings away. “C’mon Krav, we gotta follow her. Don’t you think she was acting sketchy on the boat?”

“I dunno,” Kravitz says, rubbing at his eyes as Taako tugs him along.

They only barely keep up with Lucretia, unburdened as she is with something as simple as walking, and Kravitz, the taller of the two, watches her plunge down the chimney of an old, rounded cottage. There are vines winding around the old stones, curling around tightly closed shutters. The whole cottage is surrounded by overgrown weeds and ancient, half-rotted wooden beams, the remnants of a long-fallen fence. Taako and Kravitz creep to the window and watch as Lucretia has a silent argument with a wrinkled woman in blue and white, her face craggy and twisted like carved wood. Taako pushes open the door just in time to hear Lucretia say:

“I need Davenport to be safe, but I’m not giving you these boys anymore!”

“Giving us to her?” Taako asks.

“Close the door,” the woman, the Bulwark Witch, rasps, staring at Taako and Kravitz with glowing blue eyes. “Now. The night air is poison.”

Warily, Taako does, noting the shimmering walls of blue that flex and shift between everyone. He grips Kravitz’s hand even more tightly as the old woman looks them up and down.

“Yes, they will do nicely,” the Bulwark Witch says.

“No!” Lucretia shouts.

“Lucretia, what have you done?” Taako demands, glaring at the magpie.

“Taako, we should go,” Kravitz says, tugging at his hand.

“Oh no,” the Bulwark Witch says, snapping her withered fingers. Taako and Kravitz are flung to the ground, hands ripped apart, as Lucretia shrieks and the Witch hums, fiddling with something in the dresser. She pulls out a small glass orb, inside which floats a small, starry jellyfish creature. “Oh, the voice will be pleased,” she murmurs.

“What voice?” Kravitz snaps, as much as he can from underneath the force pinning them both to the floor.

“The one of he who walks in the darkness, he who knows the truth of infinity,” the Witch says solemnly.

“Whatever,” Taako mutters. “I just wanted to find my sister.”

“Enough!” Lucretia shouts, and with a swoop of her wings she swings to the window, yanking it open with her talons, blinking fiercely as the night wind whooshes in.

The Bulwark Witch shrieks and struggles for the window, shrinking as she goes. Within a few moments, she’s nothing but acrid smoke streaming from limp blue robes. The force pinning Taako and Kravitz to the ground vanishes. Taako yanks Kravitz up and runs for the door, snatching the glass orb as he goes.

They’re out the door in seconds, running into the night, Lucretia’s cries floating after them on that same cool night breeze.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yall ready for barold

The days and nights grow colder, after they leave Lucretia behind.

The night comes more quickly, the last leaves dropping without even a dance on the breeze before meeting the ground. It rains, cold and gray, and frost dusts the ground with a thin coat of silvery white before the weak sun burns it away.

Kravitz starts coughing.

“We should wait out the storm,” Taako says, anxious, watching him try and hide another coughing fit. “There’s a house right there.” He’s right. It looks abandoned, mostly, although a dim light glows in what seems to be a basement window.

“We’re looking,” Kravitz protests, but weakly.

“Can’t look if we’re dead,” Taako says firmly, and pushes him through the front door. The house is perfectly clean, almost clinical, with baskets of those black turtles piled near an unlit fireplace. It takes him a few tries, but Taako gets a fire going, settling Kravitz in front of it and tightening the blanket around his shoulders.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” a confused voice says from behind them.

They turn to find a bespectacled boy blinking at them as he slips out from behind a closed door. He’s wearing a thin red robe over a worn white shirt and immaculately maintained blue jeans. He pushes his glasses up as he squints at Kravitz, in front of the fire, and Taako, standing protectively in front of Kravitz with his stick out.

“We thought this house was empty,” Taako explains warily.

“We came to burgle your turts,” Kravitz jokes from behind him, punctuating the statement with a harsh cough.

“You should go,” the boy says nervously. “Auntie Paloma will be back soon. She doesn’t allow outsiders.”

“Why not?”

“She thinks they will lead me to become wicked,” the boy explains. “My name’s Barry.”

“Bluejeans?”

“What?”

“We’ll be out of here soon,” Kravitz assures Barry.

“It’s cold out,” Taako says defensively. “He’s sick.”

Barry whips his head around. “She’s coming! Quick, hide!”

Not knowing where else to go, Taako pushes Kravitz into the basket, tucking them both under the cool, squirming turtles as the door swings open with a loud creak.

“Barry?” a strangely accented voice calls. “Who is here?”

“No one, Auntie Paloma,” Barry says hastily.

“Someone is here, I know this,” Paloma says. “They have made a mistake, yes? It will lead to their doom. They will be made zombies in this house.”

“What?” Taako yelps, Kravitz hastily covering his mouth before the sound can escape.

“No, no, nobody here, no,” Barry says, entirely unconvincing.

“Very well,” Paloma says. “Then clean the floor, yes?” She pulls out a small copper bell, simply engraved. “The ringing, it commands you.”

“Yes, Auntie Paloma,” Barry recites in a dull voice, eyes glowing black for a brief moment.

“I sleep now. Goodnight, child.”

Barry watches carefully, standing in front of the basket, until Paloma disappears up the stairs. He waits a beat, two, and then pulls the cover off the basket, brushing black turtles away from Taako and Kravitz. “She’s gone,” he whispers.

“She sounds wack, my dude,” Taako says, helping Kravitz climb out. “Why do you even stay here?”

“It’s for my own good, really,” Barry says with a shrug.

“You should come with us,” Kravitz suggests. “We help you with the floor, you’re done early, and then we leave once the rain slows a bit.”

“Leave?” Barry hums, surprised. “With you?”

“You’re not doing anything but sitting in front of the fire,” Taako says firmly.

“Then  _you_ can help Barry with the floor.”

With much groaning and moans of “ohhhh, the _laboooor_.” Taako does, swiping quick, efficient strokes with a mop while Barry attacks the minimal dust on the floor with a wet rag. They chat idly as they work, Kravitz chiming in when he’s not coughing. They learn that Barry doesn’t remember much of his old family at all, but he wants to find them if Paloma would let him go out looking. Taako tells him, quietly, about his missing sister, while Kravitz reassures him that he’ll find what he’s looking for.

All is going well, at least until Kravitz lets out a tearing sneeze that seems to shake the house. All three freeze, the only sound the tapping of the rain against the window. And then they hear the footsteps upstairs.

“Who is here?” Paloma demands, descending the stairs and pinning Taako and Kravitz with sharp eyes. “You should not have come here, children.”

“Quick, in here!” Barry says, yanking open the door he had first come out of.

“No!” Paloma calls as Taako helps Kravitz up and they sprint for the door, ducking past Barry on their way. Barry slips past them into the darkness as Kravitz pulls the door closed just in time.

“You will be zombies, children!” Paloma says, pounding at the wood as Taako wedges a chair underneath the handle.

Taako and Kravitz exchange a relieved glance, barely able to make each other out in the darkness, as a cracking sounds from behind them, followed by a pained groan.

“Uhh, Barold my man?” Taako asks nervously. “You good?”

A shape rears up out of the darkness.

Taako and Kravitz scream.

It’s vaguely human-shaped, with a flowing red robe much like Barry’s. But the figure inside is a half-rotted corpse, skeletal hands reaching out for them, dried blood under the bony fingertips. The thing hisses through broken teeth as a pair of glasses clinks to the floor below it. Black electricity crackles towards them, emanating from the thing’s whole body.

“Uh, we should go?” Kravitz says shakily.

“Yeah no _shit_ , my dude!” Taako shrieks. He grabs Kravitz and leaps for the window.

They crash through into the rain and mud as the thing roars, swooping after them. They run blindly, hand in hand, through the bushes and trees, branches whipping at their faces, mud sucking at their feet. Kravitz sees it first and tries to stop Taako, but the momentum is too much and they both go tumbling down a sudden hill.

The thing that used to be Barry floats over them, hissing, the black electricity sparking around its flowing red robe.

“Fuck!” Taako says, scrambling to his knees in the mud, shoving dead leaves away and putting an arm over a coughing Kravitz. “What do we do?”

“Maybe this?” Kravitz asks, holding out a small copper bell.

“Kravitz what the fuck?”

“It was just hanging from her belt, I dunno!”

“Hell yeah!” Taako yells, snatching the bell. “The, uh, the ringing of the bell commands you! Fuck off and leave Barold alone!”

The thing _screams_.

It twitches, that black lightning mixing with red and twisting inward, illuminating every piece of the skeleton, until it explodes, violent and high pitched and somehow leaving both Taako and Kravitz with the feeling of denim hitting them in the face.

And then the skeleton creature is gone, leaving only a limp Barry lying on the ground before them.

Taako and Kravitz exchange nervous glances and Taako pokes at Barry with his stick. The boy groans, rubbing at his head as he sits up. “What happened?”

“Barold!” Paloma calls, pushing through the bushes. “You’re okay!”

“Yeah, that uhhh, that evil spirit thing? That’s gone, you’re welcome,” Taako says, swinging the bell absently. “What was _up_ with that whole deal, by the way?”

“It’s complicated,” Barry says, pushing at glasses that aren’t there. “But thank you for freeing me.”

“We go to the tavern, yes?” Paloma says, looking down at Barry. “Merle will help.”

“Oh,” Barry says. “Yeah, alright.” He smiles at Taako and Kravitz. “Thanks again. Maybe we’ll see you again someday?”

“Yeah my man, for sure,” Taako says, tossing him the bell.

Kravitz lifts a hand as Barry and Paloma disappear through the trees. “What now?”

“I dunno,” Taako says with a sigh. “We walk, I guess.”

And they do.

The weather changes, as they make their way through the forest. Only a few scarce leaves still cling to the branches, while the wind blows icy, smelling sharp and clean. They glance at each other, knowing it means snow, but Taako presses on. The sky is leaden and gray, a more oppressive curtain than even the storms. They rest in the hollow of a small tree, Taako glaring darkly at the ground, Kravitz watching him with worry and coughing.

“What?” Taako snaps.

“Are you alright?” Kravitz asks.

“Fine,” Taako growls, glaring at Kravitz now instead of the ground.

“Where should we look next?” Kravitz ventures after a tense silence.

“I don’t know!” Taako says, yanking at his hair. “Just leave me alone! Taako’s good out here!”

“O-oh,” Kravitz says, pulling back slightly. “Right. Sorry.”

He watches awkwardly as Taako flops on the ground, pointedly turning his back to Kravitz. This means Taako doesn’t notice, or perhaps doesn’t hear, when a cold, deep voice sounds from behind Kravitz.

“I know where his sister is,” the voice says. “You can help get her back.”

“I can?” Kravitz asks, twisting to look for the voice. All he sees are multicolored eyes, red and blue and yellow and green swirling together.

“Of course. Just come with me.”

“Yes, I…” Kravitz turns to Taako’s back. “Taako?”

He receives no answer.

“Okay,” he says softly. “It’s alright, Taako. I’m going to get your sister back.” He straightens his shoulders, pushing down a cough. “Okay. Let’s go.”


	6. Chapter 6

Taako awakens much later, to drifting snow and no Kravitz.

“Krav?” he asks, rubbing at his eyes. “Where are you?”

He receives no answer.

“Kravitz?” Taako staggers to his feet, ripping through thin branches that had been growing up around him. He scoffs and kicks them away, peering through the gathering gloom. No Kravitz appears.

Taako starts walking, calling for Kravitz as he goes.

He doesn’t even notice when he steps onto the ice.

He  _does_ notice when the ice gives way, plunging him into the violently cold water below. He screams, immediately inhaling too much water, the dull light above him growing farther and farther away.

He sinks.

He barely feels it when a net settles around him, pulling him above the surface.

“Taako! Taako! Wake up!”

He blinks water out of his eyes wearily, dimly seeing the black and white feathers as Lucretia hops around him.

“Taako! Are you okay? Where’s Kravitz?”

It’s too much effort to keep his eyes open, so Taako doesn’t bother.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> time for Davenport and the climactic scene

“You doin alright there, pal?” a voice asks in his ear.

Taako’s eyes snap open and he jumps with a loud yell, shielding his face. The small magpie hops back from his shoulder, blinking at him curiously.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” it says. “Who are you?”

“I’m Taako,” Taako mutters, too tired to tack on the rest. “Where’s Lucretia?”

“You know Lucretia?” the magpie says, wings flaring. “Where is she? She’s been gone a long time.”

“I dunno, man,” Taako mumbles. “Where’s Kravitz?”

“Who?”

“Kravitz!” Taako says. “I have to find him! And my sister!”

“But the storm,” the magpie says. “Even I wouldn’t go out in a storm like this, and I used to be a sailor, before,” he shrugs. “This happened.”

“I’m going out anyway,” Taako says.

“Well,” the magpie says, watching him closely. “If you see Lucretia, tell her Davenport is ready for her to come home.”

“Right,” Taako says as he climbs out of the tree. “Uhh, thanks.”

He stumbles through the driving snow alone, calling for Kravitz, calling for Lup, even calling for Lucretia when he gets desperate. He pulls his cloak in front of him in a vain attempt to block some of the snow, holding his hat on his head with his other hand.

He almost misses Lucretia until she smacks him in the face.

“Ouch!” she says, flopping onto the ground.

“Lucretia?” Taako asks, cupping his hands around her. “Are you okay?”

“I suppose,” she says, shivering as the wind whips snow past his hands. “But Taako! I saw Kravitz!”

Taako straightens. “Where.”

“That way.”

They stride on, heading for a small clearing. Kravitz sways in front of the dark figure of the Beast, coughing violently. He waves a small golden honeycomb at the Beast, and points at a spider web wrapped around a stick.

“A golden comb, and silver thread,” he says between coughs. “Now give me Taako’s sister. You said you knew where she was.”

“I need one more thing,” the Beast says. “I want the sun.”

“How am I—”

“Lower it into the arms of this king piece,” the Beast says, tossing a small chess piece onto the snow between them. It’s a tall, craggy figure, carved of dark wood, with arms raised as if in supplication, or defense.

“Right,” Kravitz mutters, glancing around the clearing. There’s a small stump facing the only opening, where he can scarcely see the setting sun. “Oh.” He settles the chess piece onto the stump, and turns back to the Beast with a proud smile. “Look, see? The sun will sink right into the arms of the king. We just have to wait.”

“You’ve solved my sun puzzle,” the Beast says warmly, or as warmly as something can that feels like the icy depths of a dark cave. “Now just sit there in the cold, and wait.”

Taako and Lucretia find him there, thin branches curling over and around him as he coughs weakly, gazing towards the setting sun.

“Kravitz!” Taako gasps, yanking at the branches around him. “You’re gonna be fine, don’t worry, I got you.”

“No, Taako,” Kravitz says, limply waving his hands away. “It’s okay. The Beast knows where your sister is. If I do everything he says, she’ll come back to you.”

“I’m not letting him take you,” Taako says softly, blinking away tears.

“Beast!” Magnus comes crashing through the trees, pointing his axe. “What have you done?”

“Me?” the Beast asks, shifting towards him in a swirl of blackness. “Your wife’s soul grows dim, woodsman. She needs more fuel to survive.”

“His wife?” Kravitz asks as Lucretia tries to help Taako, vainly, to pull the branches away. “But you said Taako’s sister was in there.”

“What?” Magnus asks. “No, it’s Julia. But,” he turns to glare at the Beast. “She wouldn’t want this. Let these children go.”

The Beast laughs, colder than the wind and swirling snow, and with a rush, the lantern clatters to the ground next to Taako as Magnus stumbles backwards. “Take the lantern,” he says, gesturing towards it. “Your sister _is_ in there, but she can’t survive much longer.” The multicolored eyes shift towards Kravitz. “Put his soul in instead, child. You and your sister can be the lantern bearers, together.”

“Yeah, don’t do that,” Lucretia says sharply.

“It’s okay, Taako,” Kravitz whispers. “I want you to be with your sister again.”

Taako gazes at the lantern, and slowly, hesitantly, reaches for the handle. He picks it up as Magnus thumps his fist against the ground, tears leaking out as the Beast looms over Taako. The boy stares at the dancing flame within and then back into the glistening eyes of the Beast.

And Taako smirks.

“There’s always a third option,” he says. “Sounds to me like you don’t _have_ Lup’s soul. Sounds to me,” and he rises, hands on his hips, staring contemptuously at the Beast. “Sounds to me like maybe it’s _your_ soul in this thing.”

“No!” the Beast hisses.

Taako is already tossing the lantern high in the air, landing perfectly into Magnus’s shocked hands. He hefts Magnus’s axe, groaning as he does, and slices away the branches surrounding Kravitz. He glances at Lucretia. “Davenport said he was waiting for you to come home.”

“Oh,” Lucretia says softly. “Thank you, Taako.”

“C’mon, Krav,” Taako murmurs, wrapping his arms around him. “Let’s go.”

“She was never in there, was she?” Magnus whispers, staring at the lantern in his hands.

“Let’s not be hasty, woodsman,” the Beast says, swooping around him and settling a clawed hand on his shoulder. “You don’t want to go back to that empty house, do you? Don’t do anything to lose Julia—”

“No!” Magnus shouts, and swings open the small front of the lantern, exposing the single stuttering flame. “You don’t get to say her name!”

He stares down the Beast, defiant, and then.

Magnus blows out the flame.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> epilogue

The boy is no longer alone.

He finds Lup, not long after he and Kravitz escape the woods. She flings her arms around him, explaining how she was searching, searching, but Taako was just gone. She doesn’t understand how he got lost in the small copse of trees behind the school, but he’s here now, albeit chilled to the bone. Kravitz, an oxygen mask over his face, smiles faintly, tracing Taako’s hand in his.

 

Nearby, a bespectacled boy pulls up his jeans, smiling at his aunt as he plans to go join his new friends. Fortunately, Kravitz and Taako will soon be out of the hospital.

 

At Merle’s tavern, the short man swings the doors open into the clear cold morning, laughing brightly at his husband’s complaints in the background.

“We just got over being birds, Merle, let me stay warm!” Davenport shouts.

“I’ll get the water, Merle,” Lucretia says quietly, twisting her long white hair back into a ponytail and fetching the water buckets. “It’s the least I can do.”

“What, if I say no are you gonna turn into magpies again?” Merle asks her teasingly.

“Merle!”

 

Alone, Magnus stumbles back to his empty cottage. He swipes at his still watering eyes and collapses on the porch, gazing dully at the lavender-scented rocking chair where he and Julia had once passed beautiful summer days in gentle happiness.

The door opens.

“Magnus?”

 

No one stays lost forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy howdy this one didn't wanna come out but here we are anyway hell yeah
> 
> if you leave comments and kudos i'm even MORE likely to post shit like this! whether or not that's a positive is up to you lmao
> 
> thanks i love you bye!

**Author's Note:**

> it's fall, i had to


End file.
